AMERICAN BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

:''For the league that began in 1999, see American Basketball Association (2000-).''
The 'American Basketball Association' ('ABA') was a professional basketball league founded in 1967, and eventually merged, in part, with the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Contents

League history

Prominent players of the ABA

ABA Championship series results

See also

External links

League history

The original ABA was founded in 1967, competing with the well-established National Basketball Association, until reaching an agreement of merger in 1976. Ultimately, four ABA teams were absorbed into the older league: the New York Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs. Two other clubs, the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis were disbanded upon the merger. A third, the Virginia Squires, had folded less than a month earlier, missing out on the opportunities that a merger might have provided.
The ABA distinguished itself from its older counterpart with a more wide-open, flashy style of offensive play, as well as differences in rules (a 30-second shot clock–as opposed to the NBA's 24-second clock–and use of a three-point field goal arc). Also, the ABA used a colorful red, white and blue ball, instead of the traditional orange ball. The freewheeling style of the ABA eventually caught on with fans, but the lack of a national television contract and protracted financial losses would spell doom for the ABA as an independent circuit. In its last year of existence, (1976), the ABA pioneered the now-popular slam dunk contest at its all-star game in Denver.
NBA great George Mikan was the first commissioner of the ABA, where he introduced both the 3-point line and the league's trademark red, white and blue basketball.

Prominent players of the ABA

★ 'Rick Barry' ★ 'Ron Boone' ★ 'Larry Brown' ★ 'Roger Brown' ★ 'Don Buse' ★ 'Mack Calvin'

★ 'Jim Chones' ★ 'Billy Cunningham' ★ 'Louie Dampier' ★ 'Mel Daniels' ★ 'Julius "Dr. J" Erving' ★ 'Donnie Freeman'

★ 'George "Ice Man" Gervin' ★ 'Artis Gilmore' ★ 'Connie Hawkins' ★ 'Spencer Haywood' ★ 'Dan Issel' ★ 'Bobby Jones'

★ 'Jimmy Jones' ★ 'Larry Jones' ★ 'Moses Malone' ★ 'George McGinnis' ★ 'Charlie Scott' ★ 'David Thompson'

ABA Championship series results

See also

★ ABA's All-Time Team

★ List of defunct sports leagues

External links

★ Remember the ABA